Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Atmosphere Abuse

 Atmosphere Abuse
type
FeatureClass
 Atmosphere Abuse
label
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse
page
AtmosphereAbuse
 Atmosphere Abuse
comment
The discerning overlord works smarter, not harder. When the need arises to kill everyone, why tear a world into its constituent particles? Everyone on the planet is equally in its atmosphere: that fragile, wispy shell that can be blown away like seeds from a dandelion, or reconstituted in a number of creative ways. This takes a fraction of the time and effort, and need not deplete precious stores of Applied Phlebotinum at all, yet in skilled hands produces all the spectacle and excitement of antimatter bombs.
Certainly, paranoid bunkers and deep-sea habitats might survive. But then, what about the astronauts? Efforts at complete annihilation must, by their nature, include extra steps to be thorough.
Abusive atmosphere alteration is not solely for the Omnicidal Maniac, either. An Alien Invasion might combine conquest and colonization into one elegant package. Even the good guys may find themselves performing one, once a seemingly empty planet's catacombs open, sleepers waken, etc. The Apocalypse How score of such an act varies, though it's hard for one to not have one.
May overlap with Hostile Terraforming.
 Atmosphere Abuse
fetched
2023-10-14T17:00:46Z
 Atmosphere Abuse
parsed
2023-10-14T17:00:46Z
 Atmosphere Abuse
processingComment
Dropped link to GeneralRipper: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Atmosphere Abuse
processingComment
Dropped link to JonathanCoulton: Not an Item - IGNORE
 Atmosphere Abuse
processingComment
Dropped link to OnceGreenMars: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Atmosphere Abuse
processingComment
Dropped link to SealedEvilInACan: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Atmosphere Abuse
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_17bfcf60
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_17bfcf60
comment
In Homeworld the Taiidan Empire punishes the Kushan for violating the terms of their exile by using a Low-Orbit Atmosphere Deprivation Weapon on their adopted homeworld. The only survivors being the crew of the Mothership and the occupants of what cryo-trays they manage to salvage
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_17bfcf60
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_17bfcf60
featureConfidence
1.0
 Homeworld (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_17bfcf60
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_3c65a1d1
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_3c65a1d1
comment
Crest of the Stars: Though we don't see it happen, the Abh casually mention stripping a planet of its atmosphere as one method they've used for dealing with rebellions.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_3c65a1d1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_3c65a1d1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Crest of the Stars
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_3c65a1d1
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_53a0bd8b
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_53a0bd8b
comment
The Twilight Zone (1985) episode "Voices in the Earth". At some point in the past the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere was changed to methane.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_53a0bd8b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_53a0bd8b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Twilight Zone (1985)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_53a0bd8b
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6a989b15
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6a989b15
comment
In John Christopher's The Tripods series, the alien invaders rule Earth from domed cities that contain their native atmosphere, but eventually plan to replace all Earth's atmosphere with their own — incidentally dealing with the last unenslaved humans.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6a989b15
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6a989b15
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Tripods
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_6a989b15
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6ac55ec7
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6ac55ec7
comment
Dungeons & Dragons adventure OA7 Test of the Samurai. An evil magician named Za-Jikku is trying to change the planet's atmosphere. He kills people and turns them into evil butterflies, which breathe in normal air (t'ien ch'i) and change it to a deadly gas (yun ch'i). If he succeeds, he'll be able to breathe the yun ch'i and live forever, but every other living creature will die.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6ac55ec7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6ac55ec7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dungeons & Dragons (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_6ac55ec7
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6d2aec8f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6d2aec8f
comment
Weather Report's Stand ability in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean can actually manipulate the ozone layer of Earth itself which is the reason why Enrico Pucci used his White Snake to take Weather Report's memory disc. If he had remembered his past trauma, the unconscious (and possibly apocalyptic) Heavy Weather ability of his Stand would be activated again.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6d2aec8f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6d2aec8f
featureConfidence
1.0
 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Manga)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_6d2aec8f
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6e0dda0a
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6e0dda0a
comment
During the three-part The Supergirl Saga in the 1980s Post-Crisis Superman comic books, the Phantom Zone villains of the Pocket Universe decide that humanity is too bothersome to deal with once they build up a sizeable La Résistance force that could equal the villains' power. Thus the rogue Kryptonians put their plan in motion to kill everybody on Earth by burrowing through the planet at super-speed to its core, unleashing massive hot gases that ripped away the Earth's atmosphere and left it a lifeless husk except for the people within Lex Luthor's citadel in Smallville.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6e0dda0a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_6e0dda0a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Supergirl Saga (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_6e0dda0a
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_70814599
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_70814599
comment
Stargate SG-1: The Eurondans from "The Other Side" built an Elaborate Underground Base and poisoned the atmosphere of their own planet in order to exterminate the Breeders. When they make contact with Stargate Command decades later, the atmosphere is still poisonous.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_70814599
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_70814599
featureConfidence
1.0
 Stargate SG-1
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_70814599
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7c038c18
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7c038c18
comment
One episode of Phineas and Ferb has Baljeet attempting to extract Earth's atmosphere and put it on the Moon after being turned into a Mad Scientist by an intelligence-boosting helmet.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7c038c18
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7c038c18
featureConfidence
1.0
 Phineas and Ferb
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_7c038c18
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7de8951a
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7de8951a
comment
Traveller Adventure 4 Leviathan. In the backstory, a series of nuclear explosions caused the planet Ganulf to lose its atmosphere, killing all of the inhabitants.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7de8951a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_7de8951a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Traveller (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_7de8951a
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_83d41855
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_83d41855
comment
In Gargoyles, the titular 'goyles had a problem with a curse that would not end "Until the skies burned." Earlier, they had been bound in stone until their castle rose above the clouds, and David Xanatos had arranged that... so it comes as no surprise that he's got a solution this time, too. Figuring that they only need a very localized phenomenon, he helps them distribute a flammable gas above New York and sets it on fire, causing the heavens to burn (briefly and harmlessly), breaking the curse.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_83d41855
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_83d41855
featureConfidence
1.0
 Gargoyles
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_83d41855
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_85b998b
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_85b998b
comment
Conquest: Frontier Wars has this in video, with a nice low-angle shot.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_85b998b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_85b998b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Conquest: Frontier Wars (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_85b998b
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_90c73dda
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_90c73dda
comment
In Animorphs #28, the team is trying to figure out the latest Yeerk plot. On guessing that the latest agenda might be to poison a food supply and kill humans, Ax disagrees with very specific reasoning...
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_90c73dda
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_90c73dda
featureConfidence
1.0
 Animorphs
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_90c73dda
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a7088bc
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a7088bc
comment
Star Trek: The Original Series:
At the end of "Obsession", a matter/antimatter explosion rips away half of a planet's atmosphere.
In "Return to Tomorrow", the Enterprise finds a planet whose atmosphere was ripped away by a cataclysm half a million years earlier.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a7088bc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a7088bc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: The Original Series
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a7088bc
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a92dd14
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a92dd14
comment
Traffic Department 2192. The rebellion kills The Emperor's daughter, so the Emperor floods the atmosphere with flammable gases and takes a match to the planet.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a92dd14
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a92dd14
featureConfidence
1.0
 Traffic Department 2192 (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_9a92dd14
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a183d57f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a183d57f
comment
In a non-canon Futurama Xmas episode, pine trees rapidly propagate across Earth's surface, drastically increasing the atmospheric oxygen levels to 100%. Then Bender lights a cigar, cue worldwide fiery death.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a183d57f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a183d57f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Futurama
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_a183d57f
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a4514a75
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a4514a75
comment
It rains acid in Iji. The protagonist is protected, but trails clouds of smoke. The question of whether the Earth's atmosphere is irreparably damaged brought up a few times.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a4514a75
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_a4514a75
featureConfidence
1.0
 Iji (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_a4514a75
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_b8607e3a
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_b8607e3a
comment
The Everything2 story Valuable Humans in Transit.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_b8607e3a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_b8607e3a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Everything2 (Website)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_b8607e3a
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bcadd7cb
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bcadd7cb
comment
Warhammer 40,000 has this as the end stage of separate methods of Exterminatus. Cyclonic torpedoes ignite the atmosphere as well as most things on the surface. In the case of virus bombing, the gases released by the virus reduce most of the planet's biomass into inflammable mulch, resulting in a planet-wide firestorm. Technically it doesn't burn the atmosphere, just the flammable gasses released there, but close enough. Cyclonic torpedoes play this completely straight.
The Tyranids also employ this trope as part of their "harvesting". Prior to and during their invasion, the atmosphere is saturated with stimulants and mutagens to violently increase the rate of plant growth, while simultaneously infecting and debilitating local resistance. Within weeks, a barren savannah can be transformed into a steaming jungle, with 40% of the military wiped out in the process.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bcadd7cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bcadd7cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Warhammer 40,000 (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_bcadd7cb
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bf471bbe
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bf471bbe
comment
Since the ozone layer is part of the atmosphere, it's probably relevant that one of the alien criminals in Men in Black II was convicted of stealing some of it to sell on the black market.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bf471bbe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_bf471bbe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Men in Black II
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_bf471bbe
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_c43df4d8
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_c43df4d8
comment
Doctor Who: In "The Sontaran Stratagem"/"The Poison Sky", the ATMOS devices, which were fitted to automobile exhaust pipes in order to remove pollutants, turn out to have another, hidden, purpose: releasing a gas to convert the Earth's atmosphere into something ideal for growing more Sontarans. To save the day, the Doctor uses an atmospheric converter which literally sets the sky on fire.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_c43df4d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_c43df4d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doctor Who
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_c43df4d8
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d1548747
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d1548747
comment
The strategy of the Scrin in the Command & Conquer: Tiberian Series of games might be better described as Biosphere Abuse, but aims for the same effect - making the planet inhospitable to everything, so there's no resistance once their fleet shows up.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d1548747
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d1548747
featureConfidence
1.0
 Command & Conquer: Tiberian Series (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_d1548747
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d531b6f7
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d531b6f7
comment
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. If Dr. Totenkopf's space ship reaches 100 kilometers above ground and its booster engines ignite, the Earth's atmosphere will be destroyed. Of course, atmosphere doesn't work this way: this is a Shout-Out to how Pulp Magazine Science Fiction the movie is homage to often introduced the most ridiculous plot devices imaginable.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d531b6f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d531b6f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_d531b6f7
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d5b84b32
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d5b84b32
comment
The terraforming tools in Spore can also be used to damage a planet's ecosystem, which can destroy buildings in colonies on that planet. This tactic is particularly effective against the Grox, whose colonies self-destruct when a planet becomes habitable.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d5b84b32
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d5b84b32
featureConfidence
1.0
 Spore (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_d5b84b32
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d88c6466
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d88c6466
comment
The Science of Discworld. Paraphrased:
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d88c6466
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_d88c6466
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Science of Discworld
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_d88c6466
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e38bca40
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e38bca40
comment
From Peter Schilling's "(Let's Play) U.S.A.":
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e38bca40
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e38bca40
featureConfidence
1.0
 Peter Schilling (Music)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_e38bca40
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e68decb8
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e68decb8
comment
Star Control 2:
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e68decb8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e68decb8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Control (Video Game)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_e68decb8
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e885c808
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e885c808
comment
Spaceballs. Planet Spaceball is out to steal planet Druidia's atmosphere with a giant vacuum cleaner powered by a Humongous Mecha shaped like a maid.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e885c808
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_e885c808
featureConfidence
1.0
 Spaceballs
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_e885c808
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_eab0d542
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_eab0d542
comment
The Arrival has aliens pumping greenhouse gasses into Earth's atmosphere as a terraforming project. The main villain gives a particularly Anvilicious lecture at the end about how they're only speeding up the process that humans have already started.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_eab0d542
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_eab0d542
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Arrival
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_eab0d542
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f43685a2
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f43685a2
comment
In Battlefield Earth, the Psychlo breathe gas that reacts explosively when exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation (like the kind created by nuclear explosions). So, naturally, when the man-animals... sorry, humans decide to throw off the Psychlo yoke, they teleport a nuke to the Psychlo homeworld. Cue the all-consuming fireball, which also, for some reason, blows up the whole planet.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f43685a2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f43685a2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Battlefield Earth
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_f43685a2
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f6a1016f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f6a1016f
comment
The Matrix, specifically the Dark Storm Effect blotting out all sunlight in the real world. Although we don't know whether it was the humans or machines who struck first (it was us), it was the humans who scorched the sky.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f6a1016f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f6a1016f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Matrix (Franchise)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_f6a1016f
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f887e82f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f887e82f
comment
An example of the "nukes ignite the atmosphere" idea: at the end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the astronauts note that the detonation of a cobalt bomb could "set off a chain reaction in the whole atmosphere. Burn the planet to a cinder." After the bomb detonates:
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f887e82f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_f887e82f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Beneath the Planet of the Apes
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_f887e82f
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fa1d1ce3
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fa1d1ce3
comment
The First Men in the Moon: Although it is not actually used, professor Cavor describes in detail how cavorite has the possibility to destroy the Earth's atmosphere; a sheet of cavorite can make all the air above it weightless and cause it to shoot into space. New air that rushes in to replace the old air suffers the same fate, and this process will continue until all the air on earth is gone.
In the 2010 movie based on the book, Cavor actually does this on purpose to destroy the Moon's atmosphere in an attempt to keep the Selenites from invading Earth. This explains why the moon has become a barren wasteland by the time of the 1969 moonlanding.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fa1d1ce3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fa1d1ce3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The First Men in the Moon
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_fa1d1ce3
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fab23c81
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fab23c81
comment
The entire atmosphere of Nu Earth in Rogue Trooper is lethal to non-GIs due to excessive use of chemical weapons.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fab23c81
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fab23c81
featureConfidence
1.0
 Rogue Trooper (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_fab23c81
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fe5f9efb
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fe5f9efb
comment
Quatermass II has a chemical plant run by humans under alien control which is manufacturing gases in which the aliens can live but which are horribly corrosive to human flesh. The plan is ultimately for the aliens to manufacture enough to replace the Earth's atmosphere.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fe5f9efb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_fe5f9efb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Quatermass (Franchise)
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_fe5f9efb
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_ff9ab17f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_ff9ab17f
comment
Averted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "A Matter of Time", in which the Enterprise fires an ionizing phaser blast into the upper atmosphere of a planet to clear away some volcanic dust. If the blast was imperfect, it would burn away the atmosphere. Needless to say, the Enterprise saves the day.
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_ff9ab17f
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Atmosphere Abuse / int_ff9ab17f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: The Next Generation
hasFeature
Atmosphere Abuse / int_ff9ab17f

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Beneath the Planet of the Apes / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Men in Black II / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Quatermass (Franchise) / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 The Tommyknockers / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 The Tripods / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse
 Peter Schilling (Music) / int_858e593f
type
Atmosphere Abuse